Betting on Success
by x-Twitch-x
Summary: 15 years have passed since Renesmee was born, and now the Cullens are relocating. Renesmee, Jacob and Bella experience the high school charade for the first time with the rest of the family. But what happens when Jacob wants to start a little bet?
1. Preparations

I leaned against a tree, thoroughly full from the drained elk several feet away from me, and stared out through the trees. The sound of my wife stalking her prey several hundred feet away filled my ears, and I sighed.

The time had come for us to relocate. Again. I'd caught a few stray thoughts from several of the wary, yet still exceptionally unobservant humans, who seemed to find it odd that in the seven years of living here we seemed to lack the aging gene. Coupled with Alice's visions that would include 'suspicious mob' before long, we took it as our cue to leave. Still, I was impressed. It normally took longer for the mortals to piece the puzzle together.

Nevertheless, we had a family meeting that night, and agreed to leave within a month. Jasper wished for us to leave sooner of course. He'd been sensing more tension than usual around a few of the doubtful. Alice had soothed him quickly though, and Carlisle persuaded everyone to be ready to go in exactly one month's time. Nessie, although understanding the necessity of the situation, was still unhappy. With her uncanny ability to make friends wherever she went, she knew she would miss leaving the town behind. When it came down to it, though, she was happy as long as Jacob was with her. Rosalie was slightly frustrated at having to start high school _again_, but Emmett soon convinced her with a grin how entertaining it would be this time around.

This was Bella, Renesmee and Jacob's first time at the high school charade. Indeed it was Nessie's first time at high school, period. Since she was obviously unable to attend high school whilst growing up, the whole family had contributed in her home schooling until she had what we deemed a sufficient education. In reality, the knowledge she held probably rivalled that of several university professors put together. Our family was nothing if not thorough.

Rosalie had cheered up at that thought, planning to make plenty of bets in the near future, or so her thoughts told me.

But where to go? The family sat around our dining room table (which was actually used as a table from time to time, when Jacob convinced Nessie to eat human food for the night while he prepared a romantic dinner…or rather, convinced Esme to cook 'romantic' food.) and discussed the subject for most of the night. It was well past three in the morning when we finally came to the decision of a small town just outside of Seattle, close enough to Forks to keep in contact with Charlie, Sue, and the rest of the Quileute tribe, but not so close that anyone else from Forks would recognise us, even after so many years of not living there.

With our plans in order, Esme took it upon herself to find the perfect home for us, guaranteeing it would be ready once the month was up, and Carlisle quickly set about contacting the local hospital for any open positions. Meanwhile, Bella paid a visit to our old 'friend' J. Jenks to secure our new identities, whilst I enrolled the majority of our family in the local high school. Really, it had been quite an appropriate time for people to get suspicious; we would just make it in time for the new school year.

With all our plans in order, we were set to leave tonight, and everyone in the family were undergoing last minute preparations. Esme had finished packing the remaining furniture, and was currently cleaning the house one last time. Carlisle was working his last shift at the local medical centre, though no one but his boss knew that. Rosalie and Emmett were… well, it was night time, so one didn't have to think too hardly to guess what they were up to. Alice was undoubtedly with Jasper somewhere, probably trying to make sure that our departure would be successful, and none of the townspeople would over think our disappearance too much. Nessie and Jacob were spending their last night here camping over the lake…or so they told me. They had made sure to keep their thoughts under control in my presence, not that I wanted to know what they were thinking about each other anyway. I accepted that they were married, and honestly, I couldn't think of anyone better for my Nessie, but that still didn't mean I wanted to hear the intimate thoughts they held about each other.

"What are you thinking?" The wind chime voice of my wife interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see her drop the mountain lion carcass she'd just fed on, and flit silently to my side, a look of concern bringing out the little pucker between her golden eyes. Even after all this time, she was still the most beautiful thing I'd ever laid eyes on. _You__'__ve got that look on your face that you get when you overhear Jake__'__s thoughts at a bad time_, she thought as she pulled me close to wrap her arms around my waist, and stifled a giggle when I winced. Since the first night she'd let me hear her mind, she had practiced diligently until her thoughts were always open to me, something that I would be eternally grateful for. The only time she let her shield 'snap back', as she liked to say, was when she was hiding something from me, which only happened when absolutely necessary, or when she was mad at me. Sometimes she would do it to tease me, if she was in a playful mood. I smiled wryly at that last thought.

"What's so funny?" Bella asked softly, tracing my upturned lips with the tips of her fingers. My breathing quickened slightly from her touch, but I answered immediately. "You."

She huffed in mock exasperation. "What did I do _this_ time?" she teased, untangling her arms from around me to put her hands on her hips. I followed her hands, finding my eyes drawn to her soft curves. Automatically, my hands snaked themselves around her waist, and I pulled her closer once more. She went willingly of course, her body moulding against mine, and I leaned down to whisper in her ear. As usual, she did something to surprise me completely. Instead of allowing me to answer her question, she cupped my face in her palms and brought her lips to mine. I would never get used to kissing my wife. The way her scent, her taste, her touch engulfed me was just as overwhelming as the very first time.

I was stunned for a second, before chuckling into her mouth. She shivered suddenly, and deepened the kiss. There was something more than desire, though, something urgent…tense. With a hint of regret, I pulled away as I caught a flash of thought that crept through the incoherency she usually had when kissing me. "You're worried about high school?" I grinned. She grimaced, and I could tell she'd been trying to push this thought to the back of her mind for a while now.

"Don't worry," I smirked, "I won't let anyone hurt you."

She smacked me playfully on the arm. "It's not me I'm worried about," she sighed, biting her lip. _Much_, she amended in her thoughts. "You're worried about Nessie," I finished for her, nodding solemnly.

Bella sighed again, and leaned her head on my chest, all her anxieties pouring out through her thoughts. "Shh," I whispered reassuringly, though she hadn't said a word, as I stroked her hair. "You know she'll be fine. She'll have the whole school wrapped around her little finger by the end of the day," I said soothingly, and wasn't surprised that I believed what I was saying quite easily. Nessie had always had a certain charm about her.

Bella giggled again. She obviously believed me as well. She looked up at the rising moon, and turned back to me with a mischievous glint in her eye. "You know, this is almost our last night as husband and wife before--"

I caught on quickly. "You've finished hunting, right?" I whispered huskily into her ear. "I've finished hunting animals," she clarified with a wink, and I barely saw her crouch before she leaped at me and tackled me to the ground.

Several hours later one of us must have regathered our senses, if only briefly, and we were swiftly clothed and running hand in hand back to the house, where the rest of the family were gathered around the cars with knowing smirks on their faces as they watched us return. Various suggestive jokes and comments flooded my mind, mostly from Emmett, and I hissed quietly. "Are we all ready for blast off?" Bella asked brightly, clearly choosing to ignore everyone's expression. Brave girl. Emmett opened his mouth to speak, but Bella interrupted before he could enlighten the rest of the family with his humour. "Not one word," she shot in his direction, and I chuckled under my breath.

"We're all ready to go," Alice said cheerfully, "we were just waiting for the stragglers." She winked cheekily, and Bella groaned quietly.

We all separated into our driving groups, and before long the tiny town was miles behind us. The car trip was mainly uneventful, except when Jacob slipped, and I saw what he and Nessie had gotten up to that afternoon. "Bella?" I growled, and she smirked as she extended her shield over a sheepish looking Jacob and a sleeping Nessie, leaving me to spend the rest of the car trip trying futilely trying to suppress the disturbing image Jacob had presented me with. I frowned. At least they were being safe.

Morning broke, midday passed, and as the sun was setting we finally arrived. Esme had, of course, already furnished the new place perfectly; it looked almost identical to every other house we'd lived in, complete with glass wall. We woke Nessie and Jacob, and Bella finally relinquished her shield. We spent the night settling in, before everyone retired to their bedrooms, to pick up where we'd all presumably left off. I enjoyed these last carefree moments with Bella, before contemplating what was to come.

High school tomorrow. I got the feeling it would be a very long day.


	2. It's On

We were the first to arrive at school the next morning.

"Everything still looks fine, I _think_," Alice assured me, as she stepped out of Rosalie's car with a look of concentration on her face. "It's hard to tell with those two clouding my vision." She gestured to Jacob and Renesmee--who were currently reassuring each other in the back seat of my car--with a frustrated look on her face, as I walked round to the passenger seat and opened the door for Bella.

No one knew as much as I did, except of course Jasper, how irksome Alice found it when her visions weren't crystal clear. Her features quickly set into a grin; she was much too excited about starting a new high school to let her psychic tendencies bother her. It wasn't that she was enthused about attending high school herself, per se, she was more interested in observing the three of our family who had not experienced this before. As I thought about that myself, I returned her eager grin with a smirk of my own.

We had, of course, run through the plan with them the night before, and hoped they would be able to play their role well. Alice had been coaching her occasionally, but acting lessons were not yet ruled out for Bella.

In the back seat, Jake and Nessie were running through the plans one more time, more excited than anything else. "Rosalie and Jasper are twins," Nessie started, counting them on her fingers.

"Bella, Alice, Emmett and I are adopted separately," Jacob added, nodding.

"And I'm dad's older sister," Nessie finished with a snort, her thoughts reflecting on the absurdity of the situation. It was true though, my own daughter looked older than me. "Does that mean I'm my own aunt?" she giggled, and Jacob mussed her hair affectionately.

Their thoughts went down an unpleasant path after that, and I focused my attention instead on my anxious wife beside me, who stood fidgeting with the wedding band that she wore on a chain around her neck.

"It's going to be fine, love," I told her quietly, and she looked up at me sheepishly.

"We get to be 'together', right?" she asked with wide eyes.

I hurried to reassure her, but Jacob interrupted. He and Nessie had finally removed themselves from the car, and he was standing with his arm wrapped securely around her waist. "You couldn't be apart no matter how hard you tried. Can you imagine Bella acting like she _wasn't_ all over Edward all the time?"

"Can you imagine her acting at all?" Emmett chuckled, and Bella drew herself up indignantly.

"I'll have you know that I've been practicing my skills," she said frostily. "I could act like we weren't a couple," she added a bit more doubtfully, and reluctantly tore herself from my side, though she didn't look away from my face. I allowed myself a half-smile, and snickered when her face and thoughts alike went strangely blank. Dazzled.

Jacob laughed. "Bells, you wouldn't last a month. A week, even."

That got her mind running again, and she glared at him with her arms crossed stubbornly. "And _you_ could?" she shot back angrily.

He got a cocky grin on his face, though his thoughts were more uncertain. "Nessie and I could last longer than you two," he said after careful consideration. He was convinced of that, and from her triumphant smile, Nessie was too.

Bella scoffed. "Not likely, Jacob Black," she muttered under her breath.

Jacob's smile widened, and he casually shrugged away from Nessie. "Care to make it interesting, then?" His eyes flickered back and forth between the both of us, trying to sense a weakness.

I kept my face blank and my voice even as I responded. "What would be in it for us if we win?"

Jacob furrowed his brow thoughtfully, though none of his thoughts held any suggestions of interest yet. It was Nessie who finally came up with a response. "If we lose, we have to go on a date with the first person who asks us after the bet is over, and you two get to watch."

I nodded slowly, and an evil smirk spread over Bella's features. "That sounds fair… and if we lose?" I asked apprehensively.

A mischievous glint appeared in Jacob's eye. "I will take no trouble to control my thoughts whenever I'm around you." Bella and I exchanged a smirk.

"Jake," Nessie groaned, "you remember mom's a shield, right?"

"Oh, right."

Bella chuckled. "We're happy to go with tha-"

"Oh no, you don't," Jacob growled. "Just let me come up with another one."

I was vaguely aware of the whole family's attention on our conversation, and I could mentally hear each person divvying up sides to bet on. I was happy to hear Alice, at least, held some faith in us.

"If you lose, you have to sleep in separate rooms for a week," Jacob announced smugly, and Bella's face fell. A week of celibacy.

I had to struggle to remain composed, especially when I heard Emmett snicker.

"What are the conditions?" Bella sighed.

Jacob rattled off the requirements. "No public displays of affection, no goo-goo eyes at each other, the most people can think is that you're just friends." He emphasised the last two words. "If anyone suspects something going on, you lose automatically," he added as an afterthought.

"You have to flirt with at least three other people throughout the week," Nessie interrupted.

Jacob looked at her admiringly. "Good one, Ness." She beamed.

"OK, OK, that's enough," Bella grumbled. "I hope you realize that you have to do that too."

Their smiles faltered for a second. "Piece of cake," Jacob finally said confidently, but no one missed the waver in his voice.

"Sure, sure," Bella smirked at him. I laughed and unthinkingly wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

"Public display of affection!" Emmett announced.

Then and there I could tell he wouldn't be leaving any of us alone in the next week. He was far too involved in the bet. I sighed and withdrew my arm. _Later,_ she thought cheekily, and I raised an eyebrow, causing her to burst into a fit of giggles.

"I hate it when they have their silent conversations," Jacob grumbled. Though Bella was no mind reader, she knew me so well that it was close enough. All the miniscule expressions that crossed my face were overlooked by many, though each of them seemed to hold great significance for her.

Bella ignored his comment. "So that's all then?"

Jacob scrunched up his face thoughtfully. "As far as I can tell. When do we start?"

_Any mortals nearby? _Bella asked, whilst still pretending to think. I extended my radar. Discounting the staff members already in the buildings, the closest student was two miles away, and worrying about a huge blemish on her forehead. I shook my head imperceptibly; only Bella noticed.

Her face split into a wide grin. "We start…"

And with that she reached up and pulled me into a fierce kiss so quickly not even I saw it coming. A low moan left my throat, and I was vaguely aware of a wolf-whistle coming from Emmett's direction. Just as Renesmee was about to express her distaste at watching her parents make out (Jacob was still a bit shocked by the turn of events), Bella pulled away and wiped her mouth delicately. "…Now," she finished innocently. 

_Something to remember me by,_ she added in her thoughts, as I joined in with the rest of the family's laughter. _I'll miss you, _she added almost wistfully_. _I knew I'd get in trouble for giving 'goo-goo' eyes to Bella, so I gave them to Alice instead. Bella laughed in my head. Technically, it wasn't against the rules.

At that moment, the first student of the morning turned into the parking lot, and her eyes automatically swept across the virtually empty enclosure.

_…Hope I'm in one of Jason's classes…_ she was thinking hopefully about the boy she'd crushed on before the break. I tensed, waiting…_ maybe he'll-- whoa._

Her mind went blank as her eyes zeroed in on us, which would have been fine, except that she was still behind the wheel. I tensed again, hoping she'd get a hold of herself before she collided head on with the front office. She shook her head slightly, and concentrated on parking her car safely._ Who are they? Wow. Gorgeous. I wonder if the young one is available? Silly. Like he'd go for me. Wow. So beautiful._ Her thoughts were growing more and more incoherent as she peeked at us in her rear-view mirror. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"And so it begins," I muttered under my breath, as she contemplated who would have the best chances with me or Jacob.

Alice and Rosalie had made it clear in their body language that Jasper and Emmett were off-limits. Bella narrowed her eyes at the old car, clearly guessing the direction this girl's thoughts were headed judging by the slight unfocus in her eyes and her gaping mouth, whilst Renesmee hissed under her breath.

_…Look kind of lost. Maybe I could show them to the office…_ she was surreptitiously peeking at us as she gathered her bag out of the passenger side.

I chuckled. "She wants to show us to the office," I told the family with a grin. She hesitated briefly, before turning away. I knew she had felt that flicker of fear that humans often experience in our presence; a survival instinct of sorts. The trivial part of her brain interpreted that trepidation as fear of making a fool of herself. The look on Bella's face was not helping_._

"More are on the way," I added, as an increasing number of thoughts flickered into my radar.

"Well, we don't want to cause any more accidents," Alice trilled, and danced ahead of the group towards the office.

Jasper was shaking his head in resignation. "The amount of lust I'm going to be subjected to…"

Alice dropped back to his side. "But you get to take that out on me," she told him with a devilish grin. He cheered up at that.

"Remember," Jacob reminded us smugly as we followed, "just good friends."


	3. Gossip

The tiny office didn't have the capacity to hold all of us, so Alice and I entered alone while the rest waited just outside. The room was empty except for the mousey-haired receptionist who was doing some filing and worrying about her finances. We approached the desk silently. "Excuse me?" Alice asked in her soprano voice, causing the receptionist to jump. She swivelled round in her chair, and her jaw dropped. Her eyes flickered between us briefly, and when she realised she was gaping she hurried to close her mouth. _Who do we have here?_ she thought appraisingly.

"Can- can I help you?" she stuttered, as she scrutinised me closely. Her name badge was lopsided, yet revealed that her name was Ms. Barrett.

"I'm Edward Black, this is my sister Alice Cullen," I informed her softly, trying my best not to scare her, ignoring the way her heart beat slightly faster as she listened to me speak. "The rest of our family is outside."

I had agreed to take on Jacob's last name since Renesmee, who clearly inherited her mother's stubbornness, insisted on keeping her married name, and as her 'brother' I could hardly have a different surname. Then again, Bella had asserted that she wouldn't be using any name other than Cullen (which was also being used for Alice, Emmett and Jacob), and considering we were trying to downplay our marriage it was probably for the best that our last names were separate. Rosalie had firmly claimed Hale, of course; still clinging onto her human life, and because she and Jasper were 'twins', he too was stuck with that name. He didn't mind. It worked out well that none of us shared a last name with our spouses, hence none of us would carry the 'sibling' association with each other.

It took Ms. Barrett a few seconds to gather her thoughts. She tapped into her computer briefly, then looked back up at us. "Their names are?" she asked in a slightly breathless voice.

I reeled off their names as she typed them into the system. Several moments later the printer whirred and she retrieved our schedules and several maps of the school. "Thank you very much," I smiled, turning to follow Alice out of the office. Ms Barrett's pulse sputtered dangerously and I briefly wondered if I should be worried about giving her a cardiac arrest.

Alice seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Edward," she chastised, "you really shouldn't do that to her."

I smiled innocently as we rejoined the family, who had convened to a more private place. "I can't help it if I'm irresistible."

_I'll second that,_ Bella thought slyly, and her hand lingered on mine longer than really necessary as I handed over her schedule. We were all silent briefly as we memorised our timetables.

I glanced over Bella's shoulder. "Biology together, just like the good old days."

She grinned. "Except that you won't be tempted to tackle and kill me this time."

"Oh, I wouldn't rule out the tackling part," I said suggestively. Renesmee rolled her eyes. _My parents, the sex-addicts,_ she thought wryly. Nessie had never really been fussed about our obvious attraction to each other; she'd grown up with it.

"Lighten up, Nessie," I chuckled. "At least almost all of your lessons are with Jacob." She brightened immediately. "They are?" and with that, she turned to Jacob to compare schedules. I noticed the way they altered their body language to a more casual stance. It didn't escape Bella's eyes either. _They really want to win this bet, don't they?_ she mused, as she glanced at Alice's schedule over her shoulder.

I snorted. "They don't have a chance," I muttered under my breath, so quietly that only Bella heard.

_How many classes do we have together?_ she showed me a mental picture of her timetable. A triumphant smile spread over my face. "All but second and third period. " Her eyes lit up with the revelation, and I could tell she wanted to kiss me in celebration, but as that may have violated the bet conditions, she settled with a high five instead.

I soon became aware of another set of thoughts focused on us. The girl who had almost crashed this morning was gossiping about us to her wide-eyed friend. Without us in her presence the fear was lost, and she was gushing about our faultless complexions, thinking ruefully about her own acne. I scanned her friend's thoughts. She was excited; she couldn't wait to glimpse us herself. Although they were whispering, we could still hear their giggled words from around the corner, walking slowly away from us.

"How many of them were there?"

"I didn't see exactly, but probably about seven…maybe eight?"

"And they were all gorgeous?"

"Like you wouldn't _believe._" They were walking to join their friends now.

"Hold on. You've forgotten the most important part. Were they single?" Her friend had stopped walking.

"Well, it was pretty obvious that there were two couples. The way they were hanging off each other…" her tone hinted at disapproval. "But there were two who I _think_ were single. The two girls standing beside them weren't all over them for one thing."

Bella and Nessie shifted uncomfortably beside me. The fact that they hadn't staked their claim on myself and Jacob made them both extremely anxious, and I yearned to reach out and comfort my wife. I wouldn't have minded if Jacob comforted his, either, if it would help us win the bet.

The girl's friend giggled again. "What did _they_ look like, then?"

"Seriously, Fi, one of them was out of this world. Pale as a ghost, but the most gorgeous hair. He was kinda muscular, too," she added thoughtfully. The girl named Fi sighed. Her friend continued.

"And when he smiled? Oh. My. God," She giggled. Bella's eyes narrowed as the girl went into a minute-detail analysis of the colour of my hair. _She's getting it all wrong. Red-brown? That could never describe the perfection of your hair,_ Bella thought tenderly. I made goo-goo eyes at Alice again.

"Whoa, Kristen, slow down. What about the other one?"

"Well, for starters, can you say tall?"

Fi paused, we all smirked as we heard her heart rate increase. "How tall are we talking, here?"

"I'm thinking he's going to have trouble walking through the door."

And that's when Fi's mind took off in a direction I was all too familiar, and disgusted, with. The fantasies started, thick and fast, before she even knew more than 'tall'. Fi forced out a laugh through her haze of daydreams. "What else?"

I pulled myself out of her mind soon after that. Suffice it to say Jacob-imitation fantasies were not my favourite way to start the school year.

I smirked at my family, whom were all faux-fidgeting even though no other students were present at the moment, and informed them of the latest development. Emmett laughed loudly, clapping Jacob on the shoulder. "Tough break, kid!"

Jacob seemed to have lost some of his confidence at the new information. He'd assumed that, what with being the only complete non-vampire, that he would (gladly) receive little to no attention. He had clearly not taken hormone-riddled teenage girl fetishes into account. Nessie was not much happier. A scowl passed over her normally cheerful features and she had to restrain herself from clinging on to Jacob possessively. _I don't want anyone lusting after _my_ Jacob_, she thought irritably.

I raised an eyebrow. Perhaps this would be easier to win than I thought.

After Fi forced a thorough description of Jacob out of Kristen, they finished walking to their friends in silence. I doubted Fi would be able to maintain much of a conversation after I regrettably saw what was running through her mind.

Kristen, however, was not in the frame of mind to carry much of a conversation herself; she had just spied Jason with her friends. As I saw him flash through her mind I wondered idly what exactly she saw in him. He certainly wasn't what one would consider handsome. Perhaps he had the personality to make up for it. I mentally shrugged. The dynamics of the high school dramas did little to interest me, unless of course, myself or a family member was involved. The only reason I was listening now was to determine how the school was perceiving us. If any suspicions arose we had to know as soon as possible before anyone had the chance to confirm them.

At the moment, the school was buzzing like a hive of angry hornets. Kristen had done well in spreading the news of our arrival. I shuddered at the amount of males who had heard about my wife and daughter already.

Kristen enjoyed being the centre of attention as she described us once more, wondering if Jason liked her new fringe, hoping he didn't notice her unfavourable skin beneath it.

I couldn't resist peeking in Jason's mind. He wasn't thinking about how he felt about Kristen, instead focusing on the fact that she had seen two new _single_ girls. He enquired about their appearance and Kristen grudgingly confirmed that they were 'kind of pretty'. I snorted. _That_ was the understatement of the century; like stating that Mike Newton had been 'kind of annoying'.

I had to contain my laughter as Jason thought confidently that he would actually have a _chance _with my wife or daughter. He, as well as most of the superficial girls in the school, actually considered himself handsome, yet I still saw nothing more than average when he popped up in somebody's thoughts. Perhaps I was biased.

He had tuned Kristen out once she'd given a very brief description of the female members of my family. She clearly didn't want to give him ideas. Nevertheless, he turned to his friends and started discussing dating prospects.

Bella and Renesmee were having a hard time keeping a straight face as Jason confidently told his classmates that the new girls would be all over him. "Putty in my hands," he'd confidently stated. I felt a twinge of annoyance, of jealousy--though I knew _that_ was totally unjustified. It was just the way he spoke about them. Almost like they were objects to be acquired; it was the shiny-toy concept all over again.

I swept my annoyances aside; he didn't have a chance with either of them, we were just playing with his mind, I thought with satisfaction. When Jason's juvenile friends dared him to befriend one of them by the end of the day, I had to cough to hide my laughter from the starry-eyed junior walking past and peeking at us out of the corner of her eye. She may have questioned my sanity if I laughed for no reason.

Jason assured his friends with full confidence that at least one of them would be attracted to him by the time they got home. I almost admired his self-assurance. Almost.

At that moment the bell rang. It seemed automatic to take Bella's hand and walk to class together, but I unwillingly restrained myself. I noticed that Bella's hand had twitched as well. We smiled sheepishly at each other.

_Poor kids aren't going to last half the day,_ Emmett thought with, I noticed, satisfaction. He'd put his vote with Jacob and Nessie, clearly. "Yeah, we'll see," I mumbled under my breath. Emmett laughed loudly, making a lone straggler twenty feet ahead of us jump and look around briefly, before hurrying off even faster.

Rosalie nudged Emmett warningly. "Aw hell, give me a break, Rose, I just laughed," he grinned at her. She glared for a few seconds, before grinning back and taking his hand to lead him off to English. "Let us know when you fail," she smirked back at Bella and myself, and Emmett laughed again. _As if you two could keep your hands off each other,_ she thought at me, still amused. Jacob and Renesmee's thoughts were far too smug for my liking.

I rolled my eyes, and Bella glared at Jasper and Alice as we all set off for class. "You're betting against us too, aren't you?"

Alice looked up at Bella with a hurt look on her face. "Of course not, Bella, I believe in you. I'm the one who taught you to act…better than you used to, anyway." No one could doubt the sincerity in her tone. Bella looked slightly gratified and turned to Jasper. "What about you?"

Jasper looked at Bella sheepishly. "Well, it's just…" he hesitated. Bella pursed her lips waiting. I smiled at her impatient expression. "It's just that the lust radiating off of the both of you is so strong all the time!" Jasper burst out. I was glad we were out of earshot of anyone at that point. "Much stronger than Jake and Nessie, no offence to you at all," he added to Jacob and Renesmee. They didn't seem offended. On the contrary, they were quite amused by this revelation.

Bella paused, mulling it over. "It's that bad?" she asked doubtfully, chewing her lip. If she still had the ability to blush, she'd be crimson right now. As I watched her and remembered how her teeth had felt on _me, _a familiar sensation stirred deep in my core, and Jasper raised his eyebrows at me. _I rest my case, _he thought smugly. Alice laughed at Bella's expression.

"Worse than Emmett and Rosalie, even. Don't tell them I said that though, I don't think I could handle a competition," Jasper told us with a stricken look on his face. Even Bella laughed at that. "I'd have thought it would have settled down over the years," he added thoughtfully. Bella looked away, embarrassed. Thankfully, we all had to split up to attend our different classes, and as Jasper, Jacob and Renesmee went in the direction of the gymnasium, and Alice danced off for trigonometry, Bella and I gave a heavy sigh of relief as we approached the science lab together. She still seemed mortified.

"Don't worry about it, love," I said, winking cheekily. "We are married, after all."

She laughed. "And I'll be taking full advantage of that tonight just as soon as we get home," she told me huskily, her gold eyes smoldering with what could only be interpreted as lust.

If only this woman knew what she did to me! My breathing hitched, and I had to concentrate on keeping my imagination in control. I could barely stop myself from jumping on her now. "Bella, you are far too seductive for your own good," I told her in a low voice.

She leaned closer. "I could say the same to you, Mr. Cullen."

We paused outside the biology lab. Everyone else had already filed inside. Taking a deep breath, I attempted to calm myself. If I didn't change the subject soon we would be more than at risk of losing a bet. The activities swirling through my mind could only end in expulsion.

"Are you ready?" I asked, too quiet for human ears.

She braced herself. _As ready as I'll ever be, _she thought. She grinned up at me, then gracefully strode through the doorway. I stared after her for a fraction of a second, dazzled, I'll admit, before shaking my head clear and striding through after her.


End file.
